Typhoon/Lady Lamb the Beekeeper

Someone is actually “playing” a crumpled plastic bag “for texture” on one of Typhoon’s recent tunes (the jaunty “Hunger and Thirst,” whose brass excursions more than make up for the weird bag thing). So there’s that. But Typhoon’s White Lighter (2013) exhibits plenty of inviting weirdness throughout the album. The Portland, Ore., band is young and ambitious. The sheer variety of sounds and layering techniques offers enough of a reason to sink one’s teeth into the music here. Album opener “Artificial Light,” which bleeds in from a brief prelude, takes a little while to hit its stride and maybe tries to accomplish too much in one song, but it’s a stirring indication of where the band is headed on their sophomore outing. Less a party and more a congregation of like-minded seekers, Typhoon exhibits a wellspring of ideas.